David G. Schiller represents North Carolina employees in a wide range of employment law cases — including non-competition agreements (also called covenants not to compete).
Covenants not to Complete
A covenant not to compete is a contract between an employer and employee that prohibits the employee from competing against the employer after the employment ends. The employer has the right to protect its legitimate business interests and can prohibit the employee from working in the same geographic area or from soliciting the employer’s clients for a specific duration of time.
Covenants not to Complete may not be Enforceable
The central issue is usually whether or not the covenant is valid and enforceable. There are no statutes to address these issues. A patchwork of appellate cases gives some general guidelines but has left a good deal of uncertainty in determining whether or not the covenant is enforceable.
To be valid and enforceable, the covenant must be:
(1) in writing;
(2) reasonable as to time and territory;
(3) made a part of the employment contract;
(4) based on valuable consideration; and
(5) designed to protect a legitimate business interest of the employer.
To determine whether a covenant is enforceable requires a detailed review of the covenant and the facts surrounding the signing of the covenant to determine whether all of the five factors above have been met.
Contact Us • Representation through North Carolina in Employment Law
You are welcome to contact us regarding your employment law issue.
We can be contacted by telephone at (919) 789-4677 or by completing the general contact form.